Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 35:2, 4-5

Today's Favorite Verse: Ezekiel 35:2, 4-5

"Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,

I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:

Mount Seir is in the country of Edom. Edom is where the descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother are. They were to be destroyed because of their perpetual hatred of the children of Israel. In the chapter it describes multiple offensives. They had shed their blood and spoke against the Lord, and rejoiced at Israel being desolate.

This made me ponder on how important it is to not buy into any perpetual hatred of others. I have to say it does bother me when people write off others because of their race, nationality or any classification. President recently spoke on this.

“Any abuse or prejudice towards another because of race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, culture or any other identifier is offensive to our Maker and defies the first and second great commandments—that we should love God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. We firmly believe in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. …

“We do not have to act alike or look alike to love each other. We can disagree on a matter without being disagreeable. If we have any hope of creating the goodwill and sense of humanity for which we all yearn, it must begin with each of us, one person and one interaction at a time.

“May we as sons and daughters of God—as eternal brothers and sisters—do all within our power to build up each other, learn from each other and demonstrate respect for all of God’s children. May we link arms in love and brotherhood.” —President Russell M. Nelson (“Morehouse College Peace Prize Award Acceptance Message,” Apr. 13, 2023, newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

Day 2996